Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-07-01
FROM WASHINGTON.
Especial Cor. of the Alexandria Gazette. ]

Especial Cor. of the Alexandria Gazette.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., June 3d.
Ex-senator John Il. Lewis IS here,
and has suffered the misfortune Of
losing the sight Of an eye. The
afilictiOn came painlessly on, and
he was not even aware of the loss
until probably a month after the
eye was blind. He is entirely well
in other respects, and as indomita-
BILE in spirit and as graphic and
outspoken in his opinion OF politics
and public affairs as ever. The Ga.
zctte is apparently a favorlte Of the
ex-senator; it always treats him
fairly and it rarely denies his views
on current political themes. To an
inquiry after the political situation
in Virginia, the old war horse show
ed much of the yigOr and fire Of other
days. He said 1.-THE republicans
can hardly hope to carry our State
under existing circumstances. With
Malone not at their head, or alb.
sent in Europe or some other far.
off land, they might; but with a
six-years's Senatorship depending,
and Mahones election to it the
main object of the campaign, the
indolent democrats will shake them.
selves up and pitch in for victo.
~"
Gd.ette-"Then he IS a fine stim.
ulant, you think, for the demo-
Gratis ?"
eyes; better than hop bitters,
iron and strychnine or any other
tonic in the market. His hand,
you know was not in the last fight
for congressman at all, and the par.
ty won a good victory. lie gave
no money to the election, had moth.
ing to do with the Management of
it, and so all the candidates have
told me. Itspeculiar, but his appear.
ance as the boss of our party fight
ing against the democrats appears
to act on their rank and file Just
like red rag when shook at a tur.
key gobbler.'
GGsette-"Did you mean to say
like red flag when flashed in a
BULBS eye ?"
"No: | said turkey gObbIer, and
The turkey democracy of Virginia
with Malone shook in their faces
will gobble US up unless our plan
of fight is changed from what it is
now understood to be-"
Gd1ette-"Is this opinion concur.
red in By any OF your other lead
ers ~
eyes many of them. There is
Sam Tost, for instance, who edits
one of the ablest republican papers
IN the country. He says we are
beat if the campaign is run on the
one man idea, with boss rule weigh.
ing down party. Malone has a
wonderful brain, quick and COM
prehensive, with great power of
concentration, but he is too selfish
and intolerant for popular leader.
In fact, he is so heartily hated by
the democrats that they are sure
to turn out IN overwhelming force
whenever he is personally and con-
spicuously to the 'front.'
Gd;ettc-"Who will the re.
publcans nominate for the Presl.
dency next year,
"Why, Blaine, if he wants the
nomination, and he will beat Cleve.
land easily if they run against each
other again.
Gd;ette-"What will the demo
Gratis do with their Senatorship az
ter beating Mahonel"
"Why, they ought to give it to
Barbour. IL is an honest debt they
owe him and they will hardly re.
pudiate it the second time. l pre-
ter him to any democrat in the
State. Barbour is the greatest pc
liticial organizer in the whole coun.
try. His cool, even temper fits him
in high degree for party leader.
ship. If he is a tyrant nobody
knows it. He's got more solid
sense than all the other organizers
put together whom they have had
at their head since the war. | told
Malone this after the Lynchbnrg
convention put Barbonr in charge,
but he cOntemptuonsly denied It.
Kelley and other managers they
had had in the lead had been play
things, Malone said, in his hands,
and Barbour would amount to no
more than they. He wishes the
democrats would or could give him
leader fit to be contestant
Well, he found ont his mistake
when it was too late. Now, the
democrats have the offices to give,
or, at least, the power ofpromising
to give them; they have the most
money, too, and, above all, they
have the election machinery and
the count in their hands. In the
big county of Rockingham | don't
believe that under the organization
of Barbour there were twenty dem
ocrats who stayed away from the
polls in the campaign which first
endorsed Malone"
The ex-senator was in the best
of humor, said he had no personal
Ofense against Malone and hoped
to live long enough to see the re-
publicans win both in the State
and the nation. He was quite
amusing IN much that he said, es-
pecially in this description of Wis
it when here late to the committee
room of Malone, where he found
three or four clerks buslly engaged
in directing the distribution Of
some of the Senator's circulars.